An Alternate Departure
by AllOrNone
Summary: COMPLETE! What if the deal between Cassie and Aftran 942 in Animorphs 19 had been different? You know you want to read it!
1. Trust

An Alternate Departure

Disclaimer: I don't like writing these. But I must. So, I only own the story.

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"Let its DNA flow into you, Cassie." said Aftran.

"No," I whispered.

"You ask me to pay a terrible price to make Karen free again. Will you pay the same price? Will you become this little creature? Will you stay in that morph for two hours while I stand guard?"

I threw the caterpillar onto the ground. "I have a better deal for you."

Aftran looked at me with interest.

"You want a host? As well as access to Kandrona rays?"

"As opposed to just Kandrona rays? Yes."

"Would you like them in exchange for helping our side out and not doing anything which could give Visser Three too much of an increase towards controlling the planet?"

"What are you suggesting?"

"Answer my question."

"All right then. Of course. I've always, well, almost always felt it wrong to take involuntary hosts and to destroy planets. I'd be willing to do those things in exchange for what you've offered me."

"In that case." I leaned forward and pressed my ear to Karen's.

"No. It's too risky," said Aftran quietly.

"Yes. It's the only way for my friends to know for sure you aren't in me. It's if they see you come out of me."

"Then, in that case, the risk is worth it."

I felt the tingling touch in my ear again.

My friends came. Aftran looked at them. Then, she started to leave my brain.

When she was out I caught her.

All right! Kill it now! yelled Marco.

"No." I whispered. "She put her life in my hands. I respect that. She's willing to fight for our side. All we have to do is allow her to infest me and give her access to Kandrona rays."

You trust that thing?

"The Chee will confirm it." I said.


	2. Truth

Sorry if there were supposed to be any "greater than" or "less than" signs in the last chapter that weren't there. I've only just learned that they don't upload with the rest of the document. I'm not sure if they'll stick around now. On to the story

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Chapter two: Cassie

We went to the Chee. I carried Aftran while leading Karen.

It was slow by foot, but Karen couldn't morph and we needed her present.

When we got there I knocked.

Erik opened the door.

"Hello Cassie," he said.

"Hey Erik. You have the ability to read a Yeerk's memories, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, I've got a Yeerk here who we need you to read," I said, holding out Aftran 942.

"Okay. Come on."

We went down to Chee world.

"Hey Laura, you don't have a Yeerk, right?" said Erik.

"That's correct. Why?" said another Chee.

"We need you to read this one," he said, indicating Aftran.

The other Chee flickered on her hologram. "You may put the Yeerk to my ear now." she said.

I put Aftran up to what appeared to be the ear. She slithered in.

A few minutes later Laura said "She wants to join the side of the humans. Is that what you wanted to know?"

"Yes," I said. "That's all I wanted to know."

The Yeerk slithered out of the Chee's "ear."

I caught her and put her up to my own ear.

"So what do we do with this Yeerk?" asked Marco. "Where is it anyway?" he asked.

Aftran waved, saying "Right here."

"Oh." he said. "How do we make it inconspicuous?"

"Erik, can you make it seem that Cassie has been a member of the Sharing for weeks?"

"Yes," said Erik.

"Good." said Aftran out loud. To me she said, Cassie, when everyone says that they haven't seen you, say you've been there for weeks. They just haven't noticed you.>

Okay,">I said.

"She's slated to become a full member in just three days. Make sure she's the only one slated for that day." To Karen she said, "Karen, I'm going to have to infest you one last time. After that, you'll be free. You're going to have to come by this place whenever you'd go to the Sharing."

"Oh, all right," she said.

"Erik, a Chee will have to pretend to be Karen each day. Your current Yeerk will be the one supposedly infesting Karen. Which means it will go into a new Chee, while you get a new Yeerk."

"Gotcha. We'll have this worked out in no time."

"Ready Karen?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

Aftran pressed her ear to Karen's. Then she left my brain and took control of Karen.

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Sorry to those of you who didn't want to see Karen ever infested again, but I couldn't see any way around it. Hope you liked this chapter. I'm not sure about the decency of it even during this chapter. 


	3. The Sharing

I hope you like this chapter. Don't expect much more to this story, but if enough people like it I may post the sequel, once I have enough of it written, that is.

Thank you, Anifan1, for putting this on your Favorite Stories list. Also, thanks for putting me on your Favorite Author and Author Alert. Thanks to Jennyvre Moss and mew-xena also for putting me on your Author Alert list.

Now, on with the story:

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Chapter Three: Cassie 

I waited in the small, dimly lit room. I was alone, which was a good thing. We couldn't have any screw-ups here. There were two doors. The one I had come in. And then there was the one that hadn't opened yet, which I assumed led to a Yeerk Pool.

The door opened. It was Erik.

"Come on." he said.

I walked through the door.

He led me down a hallway. Then he stopped and pressed his hand against a panel in the wall.

A door appeared. We stepped through. It wasn't completely dark. It was a red light. Metal stairs led down.

Three flights down. A landing, a door, a hallway, a door.

Open. Inside there was a table. Mr. Chapman sat in the only chair. In the corner there was a tub. A portable Yeerk Pool. There were handcuffs and a harness. Facing them was a steel chair.

Erik led me over to it.

"Place your right hand here," said Erik.

I put my hand in the shackle.

"Now your left hand."

I put my left hand in the shackle. I didn't like being cuffed up like a criminal, but this was the only way to stop myself from being treated as involuntary.

"Now lay your head down, sideways, in the harness."

I put my head there and Erik fastened it. There was a whirring motor somewhere close. The side of my head was forced down toward the surface of the pool. I could just barely see a single Yeerk through it.

My ear touched the water. I watched as the Yeerk swam closer and closer to my ear.

Then she touched my ear.

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Now, just click on that little button to submit a review. You're not getting another chapter until I get at least one review for this one. Of course, if you've read my profile, you know that.  



	4. Infestation

Due to the stupidity of I will now use "' to indicate thought speech start and '" for thought speech end.

This is the last chapter of part one. If I get enough postitive feedback FROM DIFFERENT PEOPLE, I'll post the sequel.

Well, here it is! Hope you like it.

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Chapter four: Aftran 

I pushed into the opening. I squeezed and squished down that familiar tunnel that was Cassie's ear canal. I touched her mind, and could move her right leg. I reached further, and had hands. I reached further, and all at once felt a bit hungry. I reached further and further, sliding into the crevices. Slithering between the cauliflower contours of the gelatinous gray mass that was Cassie's brain.

I looked around.

"I have it." I said. "Let me up, this is rather uncomfortable."

"'Hello Cassie.'" I said to her.

"'IT?'" she responded.

"'A mistake always made when first entering a host. If I'd referred to you as "her" the Yeerks would have been suspicious because I'd have acted like I knew you already and that I would be getting you.'"

"'Oh. Okay then.'"

I walked out of the building. I walked to Cassie's home. I'd known where it was without her memories, having followed her there while I was in Karen's head. I walked in and went to do Cassie's homework.

Before I got to her room though, her father walked in, snapping his fingers and giggling. He lifted us up and twirled us and into a really bad dance.

"'It's probably the Frug or the Twist or something.'" said Cassie.

"We're saved!" yelled her father.

"Ooookay," I responded.

"No, we got funding! We got funding! The Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic is open for business again, and back better than ever."

"No way!" I screamed as though I had no idea what he was talking about. Cassie, though, really didn't.

"Yeah. It was weird. Suddenly this guy from UniBank calls up and says his daughter has heard about the clinic. He says she's been bugging him for three days to contribute enough money to keep us open. The man actually said, 'So, tell me what you need so my little girl will be happy.' So I did. And he's sending the check over."

He laughed. "A good week, huh?" Then he hugged us. "Wonder who that girl is? We owe her big."

Then I went to Cassie's room to do her homework.

"'Aftran?'" she said.

"'Yes, Cassie?'"

"'Is the little girl's name, by any chance, Karen?'"

"'Well, yes Cassie. Part of the reason I needed to infest Karen was to tone down suspicion. But the other reason was to keep the clinic open.'"

"'Thank you Aftran.'"

"'Your welcome Cassie.'"

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The end. But just for now if enough people like it. 


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